Tuesday in the Octave of Easter

Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabbouni,” which means Teacher.

When someone calls our name, we usually respond to them. Sometimes we know who is calling us even before we see them because we know their voices. God knows each of us by name and we should always keep our ears open to His call. This is especially the case when we are in the midst of trial and turmoil, like Mary was as she frantically searched for Jesus’ body. She was so distraught she didn't recognize Jesus by his appearance, but rather by his voice. The gospel is one of the ways God’s voice makes itself manifest to us and if we want to be able to recognize Him when he is calling, we need to familiarize ourselves with it. We also need to be open to the messages He sends to us through our family, friends, and neighbors. They might not always speak for God, but sometimes they tell us something God needs us to hear.

Are we listening for God’s voice? When we hear it, how do we react? Do we welcome it or ignore it?

O Lord, you are our teacher, help us to listen to your voice.

Amen.

Monday in the Octave of Easter

And behold, Jesus met them on their way and greeted them. They approached, embraced his feet, and did him homage.

Jesus meets Mary Magdalene and the other Mary while they are on their way to deliver the message of the angel. They are faithfully bearing the good news and because they are doing this Jesus rewards them with his greeting. We too are called to bring the Gospel message to others and if we do it well, God will reward us too. He will give us his Holy Spirit to uphold us in our hour of need. He will give us His only begotten Son through the sacrament of the Eucharist. He will give us His Fatherly Mercy when the Day of Judgment comes. In response we should be ready to greet the Holy Trinity with our whole heart, soul, mind, and strength, embrace the foot of his Heavenly Throne, and do Him homage.

Do we bear the message of Jesus as we should? If not, then how can we do a better job of delivering his message to our brothers and sisters? How do we greet God when he is made present to us through the sacraments?

O Lord, we embrace you and do you homage.

Amen.

The Resurrection of the Lord

“Who will roll back the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” When they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back; it was very large.

The women who come to anoint Jesus’ body are so intent upon their task that they have not thought about the obstacles in their way and are amazed when they discover that the Lord has risen. They came to the tomb in sorrow and uncertainty, but when they left it they are amazed. The folly of the cross has become the boon of the resurrection. Jesus has rolled back the stone of death and opened the entire human race to the rising sun of eternal life. The next time we fail or when we are uncertain, we should remember the glory of Easter. It is always darkest before the dawn.

What are we uncertain about? What expectations keep us from fully appreciating God’s work in our lives? Has God ever failed us or have we failed to see his saving hand even behind the trials of our lives?

O Lord, roll back the stones that block our hearts from you so that we might be open to the rising sun of your love.

Amen.

Holy Saturday, Easter Vigil

Do not be amazed! You seek Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Behold the place where they laid him. But go and tell his disciples and Peter, 
‘He is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him, as he told you.’

Do not be amazed! What an odd thing to say after the Resurrection, and yet, how appropriate for us to hear. These are not earthly words. They are heavenly ones. They are filled with trust in God’s Providence. The angel is not amazed because he knows God always follows through on His Promises. We on the other hand are amazed because we are human and used to being let down or failing to follow through on a promise. This is not how God thinks or works. His Ways are above our ways and we should be very thankful for that. We should also remember that Jesus went before us to prepare the way to eternal life and now it is up to us to follow in his footsteps. This task is bewildering and frightening to us because it forces us to ask ourselves the following questions:

How can we make ourselves into a living sacrifice for our God and His children? How can we transfigure our lives to God’s Ways? How can we trust God’s Divine Plan when it is obscured by darkness?

O Lord, let us be not amazed that you have gone before us to prepare our way to the heavenly Kingdom.

Amen.

Good Friday

“Didn't I see you in the garden with him?” Again Peter denied it. And immediately the cock crowed.

Sin can be a very subtle thing. It can sneak up on us when we least expect it and lead us to think, say, or do something wrong. This is what happens to Peter in today’s gospel. He is concerned with what is happening to Jesus, which is a good thing, yet when he is confronted by others about his involvement with Christ, he denies Our Lord three times. He doesn't even know what he is doing until the cock crows. And one must wonder if he would have known he was sinning if Jesus had not warned him about what would happen. He might have kept on denying Jesus if not for the foretold sign of the cock’s crow. When we are in the midst of sin we often don’t know that we are. We need someone or something else to reveal it to us. Then, once we recognize our sin we have a choice to make, we can continue to sin or we can seek forgiveness and reconcile ourselves to Our Lord.

What are the subtle sins in our lives? Are there any warning signs we've been ignoring or been told to us by others? If we are denying Jesus in some way how can we make amends for our sins?

O Lord, we know we have denied you, but please forgive us as you did Peter.

Amen.

Holy Thursday

Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him,  “Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me.”

Never say never when God is concerned. We might have our own preconceived notions about how things should be, but we should never close ourselves off to what God is calling us to do. Sometimes when we see something that doesn't mesh with our own opinion, we can rebel against it. However, Jesus constantly reminds his disciples that God’s Ways are not our ways. His Thoughts are not our thoughts. He has a Divine Plan that we need to take heed of when making our own. If we want to inherit the Kingdom with Christ, then we need to be willing to change our course mid-stream and swim against the current of our lives.

What are the preconceived notions in our lives? Are they in alignment with the gospel message of Christ? If not, then how can we replace them with ones that are from God and not from our own opinions?

O Lord, wash away our resistance to you so that we can inherit the Kingdom.

Amen.

Wednesday of Holy Week

What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?

Judas betrayed Christ for thirty pieces of silver—a cheap price—because of his greed. However, we too sell out Jesus in many ways. Some of us sell him for the false comfort of doing whatever we wish. Others sell him out for financial security. We also sell him out because we think we can do better or because we want something that belongs to someone else. We use the wages of sin to appease our appetites, but we soon discover an emptiness within ourselves which cannot be filled with worldly things—no matter how hard we might try. So we are left alone, eaten away by our own appetites, and like Judas one day we will be faced with a choice: remain unrepentant and kill ourselves through sin or seek forgiveness and live. It sounds like an easy choice, but it is far more difficult than we can possibly imagine because we become addicted to the material world and its temptations and lose sight of what is right and wrong. How can we seek forgiveness when we do not recognize our own sins? However, this is what we must do if we want to live, not just this life, but the eternal life which Jesus Christ offers us through Himself.

How do we sell out Christ? What are those sins which we are addicted to? How can we overcome them?

O Lord, we have sinned against you. Please, help us cast aside our sins and seek you out with contrite hearts.

Amen.